In 1975, a new pineapple variety was selected as an individual plant from a segregating population produced from seed from a cross made in Hawaii in 1972. The new variety was known as ‘75-80.’ ‘75-80’ contains at least 50% genetic base from Cayenne pineapple. The parental lines included two clones previously developed by the Pineapple Research Institute (PRI), namely ‘64-337’ (C12Q2SG1P1)×‘59-443’ (C9P3SG2R2). Testing and selection of individual plants took place in Honduras, Central America.
Parental Description: Seed parent hybrid ‘64-337’ was originally developed in the Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii, from where it was introduced into Honduras for field evaluation. Genetically ‘64-337’ is composed of ¾ Cayenne, ⅛ Queen, 1/16 Smooth Guatemala, and 1/16 Pernambuco. ‘64-337’ is not patented. This hybrid clone is less susceptible to premature flowering (NDF) as compared to Cayenne variety. It has also shown greater tolerance to the internal brown spot disorder (IBS). IBS is internal brown spotting of the pulp. The plant has spineless leaves of a light green color. Fruit pulp shows yellow color with high carotene content.
Pollen parent 59-443 is a hybrid clone developed at the Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii, and it was introduced to Honduras during the early 1970's. ‘59-443’ is not patented. Under Montecristo conditions, (Montecristo Farm, property of Standard Fruit de Honduras, located in the North coast of Honduras) ‘59-443’ is resistant to natural differentiation of flowers (NDF), it develops a semi-erect plant habit, produces one to two slips per plant and is susceptible to lodging. Compared with Smooth Cayenne, leaves are narrower, longer in shape and spineless. Leaf color is dark green with reddish along the margins. Petal color is purple in the tip and whitish at the base. Fruit peduncle is medium, shape is long conical to cylindrical with broad fruitlets and fruit size is smaller than Cayenne. Flesh color is golden yellow. ‘59-443’ Hybrid clone is susceptible to Phytophthora parasitica, but has shown tolerance to IBS disorder.
This breeding effort aimed to produce a fresh fruit variety with good fruit size and shape as well as high canning potential. Year round production, a reduced propensity to premature flowering (NDF resistance), lower incidence of internal brown spot disorder (IBS), high carotene, higher Vitamin C, stable crown type and good flavor relative to the commonly grown ‘Smooth Cayenne’ variety, were a few of the key selection parameters.
The development of the new variety started in Wahiawa, Hi. Flowers of clone ‘64-337’ were cross-pollinated with pollen taken from plants of clone ‘59-443’ in 1972. Seeds from this cross were taken to Honduras in 1974 for germination and subsequent selection of promising individuals. Since then, the variety has been under cultivation at the Montecristo Farm, property of Standard Fruit de Honduras, located in the North coast of Honduras. Different methods of asexual propagation were used for variety multiplication, i.e. stem cuttings, slips, suckers, propagules, fruit crown and tissue culture derived plants.
The selected hybrid showed unique characteristics such as distinctive fruit aroma and deep yellow color in both shell and flesh, as well as a very symmetrical, oval fruit shape. The plants were further propagated using slips, hapas, crowns, and stem cuttings and augmented over the years in number. The new hybrid was designated ‘75-80’. Elite individuals showing shorter peduncles and larger fruit were selected in 2001 from the original population of ‘75-80’ and designated ‘P-1972’. The present description covers the new population of elite plants with improved characteristics designated as ‘P-1972’. The new cultivar is stable and has reproduced true to type in three successive generations of asexual reproduction.